


Vespers

by Celirian



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series, Tales of Series, Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-05-25 23:18:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6214159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celirian/pseuds/Celirian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuri Lowell has long been considered a delinquent. Parentless, homeless, and seemingly hopeless he's sent to a remote town in Japan's countryside for one last chance to clean up his act. Though, that becomes a little difficult when dead bodies start to get tangled in T.V antennas. Personally, he blames Yosuke Hanamura.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is all for funsies!

Authors Note: This is my first crossover  _ever_. This is also my first time writing in our "real world" so its rocky terrain that I've never traversed before. Persona and Tales are both niche fandoms to say the least, but I had an idea and I've decided to run with it. So this should be an adventure. 

I’m open to productive feedback! If you think there is anything I can improve let me know (in a kind way). Flaming and immature comments will be either ignored or promptly made fun of. On a final note I don’t pretend to be an expert writer. I’m a novice at best and English is not my first language so I apologize in advance for poor grammar and mistakes. I’m writing this in hopes of improving my skills and to, hopefully, create a good story. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 

Things had been going to well for him. He was on an upwards curve, a good streak. He had managed to spend an entire year in school without getting suspended or expelled. Sure he had more detentions than all the other Saturday regulars combined, but they hadn’t thrown him back out on the streets.

For Yuri Lowell, that was really saying something.

Ever the delinquent, his reputation in schools was… bad. Parentless, short tempered, and unmotivated schools usually didn’t take long to realize he was a “lost cause”. Let him be and he’d screw up bad enough to get kicked out and then he wasn’t their problem anymore. That’s the way it was for a long time; school after school, suspension; expulsion after expulsion, and one more mark on his juvenile record after the next. It wasn’t long until Yuri didn’t care; he’d drop out of school all together if didn’t mean spending his early adulthood in jail, but it did and so he wandered from one school to the next going to any unsuspecting institution that was stupid enough to take him in.

He would be motivated at first. New school, new people, a fresh start. Maybe this time he’d managed to not royally screw everything up. Heh, yeah right. It wasn’t long until he more than royally screwed everything up and he was onto the next school in the list and that list was getting very, very short.

A reputation has a way of latching onto you and growing until it encompasses you; takes over you; until you become your reputation and when Yuri had hit that point it was when schools wouldn’t even politely turn him down. They all but put a giant sign on their doors that read ‘No Yuri Lowells Allowed’. So seven schools and two years of high school down, Yuri was going to give up. What was a couple years in a place where rain wouldn’t leak onto his bed, hot meals were given and he wouldn’t have homework compared to being given up on over and over again? Compared to people trying to tell him how to live his life and dictate his every move. Fate already stained his hands red from his past; why should he let anyone or anything else interfere?

His destiny was his own, that was the only thing Yuri Lowell was sure of in his life.

So when he started on his upwards streak, when things began to go strangely well for him Yuri wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The beginning of one summer he found himself studying for an entrance exam for a school he hadn’t even thought about touching. A flurry of knowledge cramming and a few all-nighters later he found himself at the doors to Gekkokan High; a wealthy, prestigious school he had no business attending. Why he was there? He couldn’t tell you. How? Who knows? The police knew to hand over his record to any school before he could even apply for the test; that was usually when he was rejected. Not this time, though.

So when that wasn’t weird enough he took the test and passed…. _really_ passed. Not barely scraped by, or got lucky, he whizzed through every question and managed to finish the entire thing (well, minus a couple algebra problems because math was not his thing). A month passed by and he moved his meager belongings into the fanciest dormitory he had ever seen and put on the fanciest uniform he had ever been given and started his classes.

And what’s more? He _liked_ it.

Sure, most of the teachers were jerks (from his experience that had to be a job qualification), but that one substitute teacher was pretty cool; if not completely insane. He played football and damn was that fun and his teammates were a riot to be around. He made friends for the first time ever; solid people who, despite an adoration for gossip, had plans for their lives. They talked about places they wanted to go and the people they wanted to turn into. Yuri had never seen that before. As he moved around he always met others like him; teens who were rootless and pathless.

It was like he had been picked up out of his reality and put into another one; he barely recognized himself between joining clubs and going to the library on a free afternoon (which still made him feel just a little bit icky on the inside). But if Yuri was good at one thing and one thing only; it was adapting. So he knew he would get used to the changes and he went along with the flow of life. He didn’t get the best grades, but he wasn’t failing, he was a good center on the field, he liked going to cooking club (even if he did get made fun of for it from time to time), and he had people around him who, well…cared. He had a best friend for the first time in _years_ and hallway acquaintances and rivals (okay, that wasn’t anything new).

He even found a girlfriend. A headstrong, no holds, funny, and witty girl who he had gotten along with from the day they met in homeroom and snarked at each other for five minutes about who would have the last seat next to the windows (she won, of course). She was pretty too, really pretty which was a bonus. She helped him with math and he taught her Kendo (the only thing he had ever kept up with his entire life) and soon they were the topic of whispers in the hall and decided to just go with it. She went to his football games and he went to her dance recitals and they went to that disgusting burger place and ate until they swore they would ever return again and always did.

So things had been good and he was actually _living_ for once and Yuri didn’t really mind it; not one bit. Sure he still got in trouble; he had a mouth and a tendency not to think before letting it speak. He was getting better though, slowly and that still had to count for something.

Yes, things were good, great, hell, for Yuri? Things were _perfect_. All the while, Yuri had told himself he should get used to this life; it was better for him, it was the way things were supposed to be. But, at the same time there was an itch in the back of his mind telling him something was off. Something just wasn’t…right. He ignored it, placing it aside and telling himself he was just trying to adjust to his new motivation in life that he came from nowhere.

That was a mistake.

He should have listened. He should have listened and run as far away as he could, as fast as possible. Because overnight everything went from perfect to hell faster than Yuri could comprehend. Faster than the onset of his mysterious motivation, faster than his life turning around it fell apart into even more broken pieces than it had been to begin with.

The worst part about it all was that Yuri honestly couldn’t tell you _how_ it had gotten so bad so fast. He honestly didn’t know.

He didn’t _remember_.

_

“You don’t remember?” The officer sanding over Yuri’s chair crossed his pudgy arms and let out a snort of air through his nose that ruffled his unkempt, ridiculously curled mustache. Leaning back slightly against the front side of his desk he shook his head. “Like I’ll buy that one from you of all people Mr. Lowell.”

Yuri resisted the urge to put his face in his hands. He had tried to explain, he really had. No lies this time. He was being more honest than he ever had been in his life and that was probably why no one believed him. Especially his probation officer, Officer Leblanc. He was a good man, really, but perhaps he was just a little too serious about his job. Which meant with Yuri’s constant need to crack whit or pull out sarcasm and the officer’s need to try and save everyone in the name of justice gave them a rocky relationship at best.

Still Yuri had to award the man for his sheer perseverance. Everyone else in the district had given up on Yuri years go, but LeBlanc hadn’t. Why, Yuri would probably never be able to figure out, but the man was as obstinate as a mountain regarding his most frustrating and infuriating and seemingly hopeless case.

Yuri shook his head, his long black hair falling over his shoulders. He almost wanted to beg the officer to believe him, but pride would never allow that to happen. “Look, I don’t know what else to say. That’s the truth, I swear.”

LeBlanc’s eyes narrowed and his mouth twitched into a twisted half frown that couldn’t mean anything other than ‘I don’t believe you.’

This time Yuri did bury his face in his hands. Leaning over he peered through his fingers at a dark stain under his feet that was probably from one of the fifteen cups of coffee LeBlanc drank every day. It kind of resembled Russia if you looked at it sideways. “What is going to happen now?”

“Nothing good.” LeBlanc said finally breaking his overly dramatic judgmental stare. He hoisted himself off his desk and moved around to the other side. Shuffling through a few folders he finally found a rather thick one and opened it, taking the top paper he read it quickly and then held it out over the desk shaking it slightly to get Yuri’s attention.

Yuri eyed the paper and took it quickly, but didn’t read it right away. He was trying to gage the look on LeBlanc’s face. It wasn’t his usual whimsical authority. He actually looked kind of worried and that made Yuri’s stomach tie in a knot. _This is really not good._

Yuri didn’t get past the first two lines before looking up again, “Juvenile Revival Program? What the hell is that?”

LeBlanc pulled his chair and sat in it clearly thinking about how to explain everything before beginning. “Well,” He started, stopped, and started over again. “Everyone’s pretty much had it with you Yuri Lowell. After we got this last expulsion letter they just wanted to lock you up. You turn 18 in a few months and then you’re out of our hands.”

Yuri nodded slowly, but didn’t say anything. _This is really really bad_. If it wasn’t jail, what on Earth could it be? Were they going to stick him in the military? _Oh god anything but that_.

“But, since you did so well at Gekkokan until that last month I managed to convince them to give you one last chance.” Officer LeBlanc raised a grey eyebrow making sure to hold eye contact. “You hear me Yuri? One. This program is brand new and still in the process of being… tested.”

“I’m a test subject?”

“Yes.” LeBlanc’s frown cracked a small smirk as Yuri’s jaw dropped. “In a way. We are taking some of our worst cases, like you, and placing them in the care of law enforcement around the country away from the city. Away from the people and places and influences that we think are part of the cause kids like you are so messed up.”

“Read the rest. That’s your assignment. There’s the name of your new school, the town you’ll be living in, and the officer you’ll be living with.”

Taking a few minutes Yuri read the paper once, twice, and a third time before putting it on the desk and biting his bottom lip. This really was worse than jail. This was the department hanging a sign around his neck that read ‘reject’ and putting him out of their sight until he was old enough to not be their responsibility, or burden, anymore.

Honestly, he was okay with that.

Yuri leaned back in his seat. “You never did hold back punches.”

LeBlanc’s face snapped back to unamused. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This, Yuri Lowell, is serious. We are hoping by introducing you to a new, quieter, environment that maybe you’ll be able to sort things out. You almost did in Gekkokan and that…that has me hopeful. I’ve been around with you since you were six and you were caught pick pocketing in Akihabara and I’ll be damned if you aren’t a person by the time I have to sign these papers to the storage until.”

“W…what?” Yuri stuttered. He didn’t care if his mouth was hanging open again. He had never heard the officer be so honest before. Did he actually have faith in Yuri or was he just putting on some act to get him motivated enough to accept this… experiment.

It was an act. It had to be. Just some scheme to get Yuri to play along into this charade. _Well, fine. Challenge accepted._ This could actually be a lot of fun. He would only have to play for a few months and then he was either in jail or free to make mistakes until he went to jail.

Jail was inevitable. Might as well make the road to it a fun one.

“Well?” LeBlanc carefully put the paper back in Yuri’s folder and shut it with a small smack. “Any questions?”

“Yeah, just one.” Yuri cocked his head to the side, his face as serious as he could make it. He lowered his voice to a deep monotone he used when he was not in the mood to joke around. “Where the hell is Inaba?”


	2. Chapter 2

When Officer Leblanc said “Yasoinaba is a little out of the way”, what he had meant to say was “Yasoinaba is in bumfuck nowhere”. So on the longest train ride he had ever taken, when the buildings faded away to trees and concrete turned into rice plot after rice plot, Yuri tuned his outdated (possibly illegally acquired) MP3 player up and closed his eyes.

He had one bag sitting in the bin overhead that held the meager contents of his life: a few changes of clothes, a picture of his girlfriend from Gekkokan (god, he missed her), a flip blade that an old friend (who he hadn’t seen in nearly a decade) gave him for his birthday, and his collapsible Kendo sword. The backpack between his feet had a folder with all his legal information and a notebook he’d been carrying around for as long as he could remember. His phone in his pocket and his MP3 player in his lap, Yuri found this situation to be the strangest he’d ever been in. He didn’t think it was possible to beat walking into Gekkokan on the first day, but wonders will never cease.

Here he was on a train to literally nowhere to live with people he’d never met and spend his third year of high school in a school he was pretty sure had to be paid off to enroll him. He wouldn’t be surprised if the poor officer he had to live with was being punished by being forced to take him in. Because who would voluntarily let a delinquent live with them?

Only crazy people and country side or not he was sure (okay he really hoped) that the people in Inaba weren’t _that_ crazy.

He wanted to lament about it all: the situation, LeBlanc not believing him about the Gekkokan incident, being stuffed into this program without a choice, but in the end he knew he couldn’t. It was all his fault, as usual.

But holy crap this _sucked_.

Although all he could do at this point was try and make the best of it— and if _that_ wasn’t a familiar sentiment. That little pick up of hope he got whenever he started somewhere new. That “I’ll do it this time” feeling that he was stuck between really wanting to believe and laughing hysterically at. He knew himself at this point. Gekkokan aside, he never actually achieved that goal. Hell, he didn’t even manage to fully achieve it there either; they kicked him out a month before the end of the year. What could possibly be different about this time? This place?

Nothing. And that was that.

_Still, I wonder what the poor sap who’s stuck with me did to deserve this._

* * *

 

“Oh, you’ve _got_ to be _kidding_ me!”

“I’m hardly the type, Detective.” Police Chief Alexei Dinoia raised a single white eyebrow as he sighed. His eyes never left the paper on his clipboard as he spoke. “Now, as I was saying; Officer Tachi was the one who volunteered to be a part of this project for our precinct.”

Ryotaro Dojima was officially suspicious. He vaguely remembered hearing about the Youth Project in a unit meeting months ago. The town would adopt some teenaged lost cause from Tokyo and their station would get a generous donation for their kindness. The only hitch was that this kid had to live at an officer’s house for the year (for a bonus on their holiday paycheck of course). He admitted he forgot about it up until this morning when Chef Dinoia mentioned (“reminded everyone”) the kid would be arriving this afternoon.

But now he was being cornered in his own office by a man who had made police chief even though he was at least twenty years younger than himself (but he had long hair that was whiter than any elder in town) and a sticky feeling in his stomach told Dojima exactly how this was going to end. Not well _._ “Sir, Officer Tachi resigned three weeks ago.”

Alexei nodded. “Hmm, so you see my problem. Apparently, the individuals that were in charge of arranging new accommodation for our subject failed to do so.”

_You better not be going where I think you’re going._

“So until we can get our paperwork straightened out with the city this kid needs a place to stay.”

_Damn. I knew it._ Where was his flighty new partner when he needed a distraction?

“Chief, I can’t—“

“You will.” Finite. Alexei had made his decision and he was not going to back off because getting Chief Dinoia to change his mind was like being able to predict the weather in this town. It just was not possible.

Still he had to _try_ or Dojima would be kicking himself for the rest of the week. “Sir, my nephew is coming to live with me for the next year. He arrives this weekend and I don’t have the room-“

“I’ve seen your house, detective, I’m sure you can manage.” Alexei dropped his clipboard onto Dojima’s desk unceremoniously. “It won’t be for long, just until we can straighten everything out and then we’ll move him into a more permanent residence. You’ll be compensated, of course.”

“What about Officer Kim?” _Why me?_ Did the chief have something against him? “Or even Tohru! He lives alone.”

“Detective Adachi is still under his probationary period. Until we clear him as a fulltime officer I don’t want him distracted from his work.” Alexei paused. What was that glint in his eyes? “And Officer Kim’s wife just had a baby; that would be rude of me.”

_Of course it would._

Alexei pointed to the clip board. “I sent your partner to pick the kid up at the train station. Read up on him and when they get back we need to have a meeting to lay out our ground rules to this kid. He has a pretty rough background.”

Dojima picked up the clipboard and quickly skimmed it over. Rough was putting it lightly. Orphaned since day one he had a list of petty crimes that wrapped the borders of the sheet pretty tightly. Although, most of these were petty offences; pick pocketing, stealing from convenience stores (and a shoe store?), a couple vandalism charges… ah. A very large slew of resistance to the law. So he had a problem with authority.

_Great, just what we need._ As he flipped through the pages Dojima frowned, this was _not_ what Inaba needed right now. They had their own laundry list of troubles to handle, let alone taking in some kid who apparently couldn’t stay in a school for more than six months— _Huh?_

Dojima snapped his head up just in time to see Alexei about to close his office door behind him. “Wait, Sir! What’s this last part? He went almost an entire year without any incidents _and_ he was in Gekkokan High School?”

Alexei shrugged and shook his head without turning. “Yes, curious about that. We’ll have to ask him the particulars.”  


* * *

 

His head swimming, Yuri leaned forward and put his head in his hands and let out a long, slow breath. He knew moving and getting situated in a new environment was stressful and crazy and sometimes even scary, but he hadn’t even been off the train for a full two hours and he was _exhausted_. He hadn’t had a moment to breathe, to even think straight ever since that absurdly talkative Adachi guy picked him up at the train station. On top of that, he was feeling lightheaded ever since they stopped at a gas station because his escort drank one too many cups of coffee this morning and he met that weird gas station attendant who tried to hire him on the spot.

Finally it was quiet. Once he arrived at the station the police chief and a couple of the other officers made it very clear he was not very welcome in their town. Especially since there was some mix up with his papers? After a half hour of listening to rules and expectations he was then questioned and expected to elaborate on his rap sheet (which of course included trying to explain Gekkokan when he _couldn’t_ ). Everyone was less than impressed with his answers; except the senior detective who seemed to get a little bit of amusement out of Yuri stealing a pair of boots (rather girly boots with fake fur inside them) from a shoe store during winter.

“You ever walk around in the dead of a wet winter with sneakers that have holes in them? Having cold feet _all_ the time sucks and it’s not my fault I have small feet.” Yuri said and the older man had stopped smoking his cigarette and cracked a small smirk.

Dojima. That was his name and that was who Yuri was going to be living with until they figured out whatever went wrong between point A and B with his housing situation. He seemed… well, Yuri couldn’t quite tell. He was obviously not happy that he was getting stuck with some strange criminal teenager but at the same time, he wasn’t as cold and unimpressed as the police chief.

There was definitely something wrong with Chief Dinoia. The only thing more monotone than the man’s voice were his eyes and that sent shivers down Yuri’s spine. He was pretty young too. ‘Youngest police chief this town’s ever had!’ Adachi had told him with a ridiculous grin before he was told to shut up and to stop acting like a new recruit. Still, he was the kind of person that looked like he had some hidden agenda or knew things that no one else did. Like he was constantly taking in every detail around him and planning… something not good.

Thankfully, he was left alone after the interrogation and lecture (granted he couldn’t leave the room he was in) so he finally had time to consider his situation. Although there wasn’t much to consider. On the drive from the train station to the police station Yuri was pretty sure he had seen all there was to see in Yasoinaba. A small main street with a couple of local stores (a good few of them looked closed on top of it), a shrine, a small park, and a department store that looked pretty new. Then there was green. Lots and lots of green and farms and that low plain around a small river that he might be able to get some fishing done in.

Adachi said flat out that there wasn’t much to do; luckily Yuri never had a hard time amusing himself when the need arose. There would be schoolwork and maybe the school had a soccer team that he could join, or maybe he could find a dojo and work on his kendo. He doubted he would be able to find a part time job considering his history; no one had given him the chance yet and out here in the country side where people were probably even more wary of sketchy background the likelihood was basically zero.

Oh well, if he could get through this year without being put into handcuffs and graduate high school it would be a _huge_ accomplishment and he would be proud of himself. Tiny goals were the way to go. He figured that out in Gekkokan when he was trying to adapt to his new attitude and way of life. He’d aim for small insignificant goals to try and make it to a larger, better finish line.

“You okay?”

Yuri shot up in his chair and turned to find Detective Dojima standing behind him, arms crossed, cigarette in his mouth. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m fine.” Yuri said standing up and turning to meet the man eye to eye. Fine? Sure, that’s what he’ll call it. “I’m just a little tired and hungry.” Which wasn’t a lie.

Dojima stared at him for a long minute, let out a long breath of smoke, and sighed heavily. “All right, I can’t ask you to stay at the station for the rest of the afternoon while I work. I’ll drop you off at the house and we can talk about a few things on the way.”

_Awesome._

Yuri bent down to pick up his duffle bag, but the detective got to it first and slung it over his shoulder nodding to the door. Shouldering his backpack Yuri followed Dojima outside and into a beat up green sedan that smelt horrifically like an old ashtray. Tossing his used cigarette out the window Dojima lit up a new one and blew a puff of smoke out.

“Look, Yuri, I know it’s not your fault that the paper pushing clerks messed up, but this is _really_ bad timing.”

_At least he’s being honest_. Yuri thought trying not to roll his eyes. Everything is bad timing when you’re dealing with a delinquent.

“My sister and her husband have to work overseas for the next year and my nephew is coming to live with me _and_ I have my own daughter to look after.”

_Oh._ That really _was_ awful timing. Two new kids ( _boys_ at that) in his house and one was a complete stranger who he had no reason to trust? Yeah, he couldn’t blame the man one bit for being so stand offish in the office earlier. _And he has a daughter_? Oh…yeah, Yuri knew exactly where this was going. He waited for the detective to continue. Show him you had some shred of respect (even if you didn’t) and maybe things wouldn’t be as hard as they could be.

“It’s only Nanako and myself at the house so we fortunately have the room, but—” Yuri braced himself on the dash as he slammed on the breaks and the car jerked to a sudden halt. A car behind them honked its horn and raced around them with a screech of tires. Dojima turned and narrowed his eyes at Yuri. “You have a long history and I never even considered being a part of this program because of her. I’ll be watching you very, _very_ carefully. I don’t know why Chief Dinoia is forcing me to do this and I’m not too happy about it, but I also know that this is supposed to be some kind of _second chance_ for you. But screw up _once_ and that’s it for me. You got it?”

Yuri nodded. He couldn’t blame the man, really. But still _ouch_.

Hoping that his smile was at least somewhat sincere (because he was trying to be at least halfway earnest) Yuri put his right hand up in the air, fingers locked together. “Don’t worry, old man, I’ll be on my best behavior. I swear.”

Dojima put his hands back on the wheel and began driving slowly. He definitely wasn’t convinced. “You’ll call me Sir, Detective, or Mr. Dojima until I say otherwise.”

“You got it.” Yuri paused eyeing the detective; was his… yes his left eye was definitely twitching. “Sir.”

* * *

 

“Dad? Who is he?”

Dojima sighed and tried to turn around to face his daughter, but every time he moved the girl moved with him as if she was glued to the back of his legs. ”Nanako…” He gave Yuri a despondent look and shrugged a little. They didn’t usually have people over that Nanako didn’t know, but she usually wasn’t _this_ shy.

Yuri watched silently for a minute, put his backpack down, and bent down on one knee. He peered around Dojima’s legs and gave Nanako a surprisingly easy smile. “My name is Yuri.” He said softly. ”It looks like I’ll be staying with you for a little while. Sorry for the intrusion.”

Nanako poked her head around her father’s back and smiled back. “T-that’s okay. I’m Nanako.”

_Huh, he’s pretty good with kids._ Dojima was honestly surprised; with a track record like Yuri’s he wasn’t expecting a good homely manner. Maybe he was wrong to jump to conclusions, but what else can you do when you have a seventeen year old who’s had basically no guidance his whole life show up on your doorstep?

Yuri nodded. “Nice to meet you, Nanako. So, you run this house huh?”

Nanako giggled and shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”

“Don’t be silly.” Dojima chuckled pulling away and putting a hand on her head. “You certainly do more than I do around here.” He smiled down at her as she blushed and started fidgeting with the corners of her dress. He looked down at Yuri and cleared his throat. “I’ve got to get back to the station and finish up some paperwork. I guess you can have my nephew’s room upstairs for now, but we’ll have to figure something out once he gets here on Sunday.”

Yuri stood up and nodded. “Thanks.”

Dojima nodded and looked back down at his daughter. He really didn’t want to leave her alone with Yuri, but he had _so much_ work to do. “I’m going to show Yuri to his room. I’ll bring home dinner in a couple of hours.”

“Okay!” Nanako smiled. “Can we have fried rice?”

“Sure.” He watched Yuri pick up his bags before heading up the stairs. The stairs dead-ended at a door, which he pushed opened with a loud creak. He’d have to oil that.

Yuri stepped into the room and looked around. He looked like he was stuck somewhere between curiosity and terror. Like he wanted to inspect and check out every nook and cranny in the room, but at the same time he was scared to touch anything.

_Orphan_. He probably never had a place this large to himself ever. Living in the city alone he probably thought the house was huge, being an orphan who probably bounced from one dormitory style place to the next a room to yourself would be…intimidating.

Dojima coughed into his hand. This was awkward. “Well, make yourself at home. Souji’s- er, my nephew’s things were shipped and are supposed to arrive today. If you could bring the boxes up here when they get here I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Yuri put his bags down and took a couple steps into the room and looked around before turning back to Dojima. “Sorry I got dumped on you like this, but thanks.”

And that sounded more than entirely sincere. Dojima decided that maybe he should reserve final judgment for later. Yuri might not be as bad as paper says.

Then again, he could be.

“All right.” Dojima ran a hand through his hair and started back down the stairs. “You like fried rice?”

“Sounds perfect.”

* * *

 

_Talk about getting thrown into the swing of things_.

Dinner had been just about as awkward as he expected between Nanako being totally unsure of what to make of him and Dojima waffling between giving him not so subtle warnings and somehow sounding genuinely interested in Yuri.

Still, once he had scarfed down his rice and listened to Nanako sing that stupidly catchy commercial tune for Junes every time it came on (and she might just be the cutest kid Yuri’s ever met) he went up to the room and collapsed. Then his alarm went off and he was getting scolded by Nanako about how it would be bad to be late for school on his first day.

He might already be in love with her. She handed him an umbrella and grabbed his hand and dragged him down the street talking away about how they had art class in the morning and that she would draw a picture for her cousin so he had something colorful in his room when he arrived. So while he was trying not to turn into a complete pile of goo he was taking in the other kids dressed in the same uniform as him. They seemed normal enough. Girls giggling behind guys’ backs and boys knocking each other around. It wasn’t until he got to the school gate that he realized just where he managed to land himself.

All he had was a small shout of warning from behind him before some kid on a bike nearly creamed him head on. He jumped back a couple of paces and watched as the kid wobbled dangerously to the side before catching himself and then losing himself and falling face first into a pile of garbage.

_Great, this is going to be a fun crowd._

Sighing, Yuri slung his backpack further up on his shoulder and looked down as the kid picked himself up and adjusted a set of bright orange headphones around his neck. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m cool.” The kid dusted his pants off and gave him a thumbs up. “I totally meant to do that!”

“Riiiight. Whatever you say.” Yuri put a hand in the air and turned towards the school’s doors. That was when he started getting attention. Whispers in the hall and giggles as he walked to the administration office to get his schedule.

“Did you hear? There’s a new senior starting today.”

“He transferring during his senior year? That sucks.”

“I hear he doesn’t even have a family out here. I wonder how he ended up here.”

“Oh my gosh! Is that him?? He’s kind of cute!”

_Guess a new kid is a pretty big deal in a tiny town like this_. Great, that’s exactly what he needed, to be the center of attention. If people were that keen on gossiping and getting information on him it really wouldn’t take that long to figure out where he came from.

That never went well if everyone found out within his first week of school because people jumped to conclusions and then it’s all profiling from there.

So he grabbed his schedule and promised he’d be back at lunch to fill out paperwork and headed to his homeroom after the bell had already rung and was greeted by his teacher…

Who might have actually been a creature made out of pastel Crayola crayons.

A flash of purple and the swish of a pink tie the man gestured him in with a roll of his eyes. “You’re late.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I was in the office.” Yuri took a step in ignoring the murmurs that rippled through the rows of students.

“I don’t _care_ what you were doing.” The teacher snatched the paper Yuri was holding and read it quickly before shoving it back into his face. “Well? Introduce yourself to the class so we can get on with the day. I don’t need you wasting _all_ my time.”

At least he was used to doing this.

Yuri turned towards the neatly arranged rows and bowed slightly before finally glancing around. “Name’s Yuri Lowell.” A couple of snickers, his name always got laughs.

The teacher scoffed and shooed at Yuri like he was a fly. “Well that’s that. There’s only one free desk so go take it and get out of my way.”

Yuri eyed the man and with a small shrug headed towards an empty desk by the windows in the back. Score, he loved the back. He was all too aware of the eyes following him as he snaked his way through the isle and slid into his seat trying to be as discreet as possible.

That’s when the student next to him let out a small, strangled squeak. “Yuri?”

Yuri turned and nearly fell out of his chair, a short choking sound coming out of his own mouth. No…no no no. No way. That just couldn’t be…that—

“Scifo! Is there a problem?”

The blond peeled his wide blue eyes away from Yuri and sat straight up in his desk. “No, Mr. Cumore. It’s nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I just want to thank all of you who've read this so far and to those of you who dropped kudos, I really appreciate it and I am glad people are enjoying this so far! 
> 
> Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up- I've been on a long overdue and very much needed vacation.
> 
> Thanks again and see you next time! -Siri


	3. Chapter 3

Destiny was knitting the weirdest looking web, she had to be. Yuri knew he never had the best luck, but _this_? This was just… insane. Of all the towns in Japan and of all the people in Japan, he ended up in Yasoinaba, in the same town as (the same _classroom_ as) Flynn Scifo.

_Flynn_. A guy who five years ago Yuri was pretty sure he would never see again, but here he was sitting through math class and history class in the desk next to him. And Yuri was _not_ glancing sideways every couple of minutes just to make sure. But he really was. For the first time in his life, Yuri was actually dreading the lunch bell. Maybe he would be able to dash out of class to the office and manage to take the entire hour for that paperwork he needed to finish up.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Flynn. In fact it was quite the opposite; Flynn was probably the only guy he’d call a lasting friend. They were just very different people, which was both a blessing and a curse when it came to their friendship.

But if he was being really honest with himself, the only reason he was more than dreading that break between classes was because once Flynn found out _why_ he was in Inaba, what Yuri had been up to since the last time they saw each other…

He would _never_ hear the end of it. Ever. Because that was just the kind of person Flynn was. Sure, that was five years ago, but he highly doubted he’d changed much. Flynn was as resolute and unchanging as a mountain. It was a quality he loved about the guy and something he really, _really_ hated. It was also mostly the reason they parted five years ago on not so good terms, but that was a different story entirely.

Although in the end, maybe he should reserve judgment; a lot could happen in five years.

_So much can happen_. And he probably knew that better than anyone else.

Yuri glanced at the clock above the teacher’s head and watched the second hand tick past the 12. One minute until the bell rang and Yuri wasn’t sure if the little red ticking hand was going too fast or too slow, but either way it was taunting him.

As time so often did.

_Definitely going too fast_ , Yuri decided as the bell rang and he distinctly didn’t move or glance to his right which took way more self-control than he wanted to admit. Still, he managed to stay staring at the blackboard filled with dates and names that he didn’t recognize because it wasn’t like he listened to a word the teacher had said all period. Although that wasn’t totally true. He remembered her mentioning something about Edo which couldn’t mean one in a million things in a lecture about Japan’s history.

Flynn didn’t move either. His pen was still pressed up against his notebook on the tip of the final character he was writing for his notes and the ink was slowly leaking out in a wet black dot. As the rest of the class picked themselves up for lunch, their lack of movement became all too apparent. A few people stopped and stared, wondering when one or both of them were going to move. A few waffled between asking what they were doing, but after a solid minute gave up and joined the steady flow of students out the door.

_Awkward_ , Yuri thought and fought the urge to bury his face in his hands or stretch loudly. He didn’t want to be the one to break the apparent stillness contest Flynn had initiated with him, but if he didn’t do something in the next minute he’d probably end up punching the guy instead.

Which, honestly, wouldn’t be to out of the norm for them.

With a small groan, Yuri shook his head. _This is ridiculous._

He swung around in his chair to face Flynn at the same time as the blonde snapped his head to the side with a finger in the air. Both froze, their mouths open to speak when a thin body suddenly stepped between them.

Yuri stared up at the girl who’d been sitting on the other side of Flynn and wondered just how she managed to sneak around them without their noticing. She did more than stick out a little with her bobbed pink hair and white and pink cardigan that she wore over her uniform.

She looked between the two of them, bouncing slightly on her toes and finally settled her eyes on the blonde. “Flynn, do you two know each other?”

Yuri looked up at her and put on his cheekiest grin, nodding fervently. “Yep.” Just as Flynn shook his head hard enough to knock locks of gold hair out of their perfect place. “No.”

_Ouch_. _Guess five years wasn’t enough to for him to forget about our last fight._

Yuri leaned slightly over his seat to catch blue eyes and made sure he kept his grin as mirthful as possible otherwise this wasn’t going to be any fun. “Aw, come on Flynn, don’t be like that. We go way back, right?”

Flynn sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose (and it was nice to know he still did that after all these years). “Yuri…”

The girl clapped once and smiled, excitement lighting up her eyes. “I knew it!” She turned to fully face Yuri and held out a small hand. “I’m Estellise. Flynn’s mentioned a Yuri a couple times before, but I didn’t know you were going to be moving here.”

_He’s mentioned a…what?_ That was unexpected to say the least. Did Flynn actually miss him? _Yeah, no. That’s about as likely as me getting an A in math class. .._

Yuri stood and took the hand offered to him. He looked down momentarily surprised at the strength behind her shake. “Nice to meet you Estelle. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know I was going to be moving here until last week. It was kind of a…a last minute decision. Didn’t even know Flynn was out here. ”

Flynn snorted. He did not look the least bit amused. “Last minute decision? On whose part? Yours or Officer Leblanc’s?”

_Damnit. He hasn’t changed one bit._

“You still ask questions that you already know the answers to,” Yuri said as he reached down to pick up his notebook off his desk, but a hand was suddenly pinning it down and blue eyes were inches from his own dark ones.

“And you still don’t take _anything_ seriously.”

“Um, Flynn?” Estelle said, her voice suddenly soft and worried. “Is...is everything okay? I thought-“

“Its fine, Estelle.” Flynn ground out between gritted teeth. His eyes stayed locked with Yuri’s for a moment more before he stood up straight and looked at the girl. He took a deep breath and straightened the collar on his jacket. “My apologies. I know I don’t usually act like this. Are you hungry?”

Estelle, for her part, looked extremely confused. “S…sure?” She frown and turned to Yuri. “Do you want to join us?”

Before Flynn could respond, or grab Estelle and flee the classroom, (which was exactly what he looked like he _wanted_ to do) Yuri shook his head and gathered up his notebook and pen. “Nah, sorry. I gotta head to the office and finish up some paper work. Maybe next time.”

And the look of utter relief on Flynn’s face kind of hurt even if Yuri didn’t blame him one bit. He did show up completely out of the blue. Not that he would have told Flynn had he known he was here because for as uncomfortable as this was, it was still extremely amusing. Then there was the fact that Flynn knew Yuri well enough to know that only the biggest amount of trouble could have landed him out in Inaba.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Estelle sounded genuinely disappointed but she smiled as she grabbed onto Flynn’s arm and started dragging him towards the classroom door. “Then tomorrow! We will hold you to it, right, Flynn?”

Flynn stumbled a little as he tripped over his own feet not expecting to be pulled away. “Huh?” He looked at Estelle and if that wasn’t a hint of rose on his cheeks than Yuri would eat his pen for lunch. “Yeah, of course. We… we will?? Wait, Estelle—”

Yuri watched in muted disbelief as his old friend was half dragged out the door and down the hallway before he shook himself and laughed to the empty classroom. He didn’t know who this Estelle was, but he liked what she did to Flynn.

_Short, pink, and bouncy. Really Flynn?_

* * *

 

Yosuke Hanamura leaned back in his seat and let out a long, loud sigh. _School day down. Afternoon of work, here I come…_

He actually didn’t mind work all that much because without a part time job what was there to do in a town like Inaba? His homework? _Yeah, right, that’ll happen. Not._

Still, he was stuck in some kind of sick catch-22 because, yes it was something to do, but it was also something that made his life a different kind of living hell that wasn’t _quite_ being bored out of his skull. It was being hated by all the people he could potentially hang out with when he was bored out of his skull.

Hated for reasons that he had absolutely no control over.

Not that he could blame anyone. As much as he wanted to, he _couldn’t,_ so usually he did his best to avoid the subject of his parent’s store causing a mass closing of traditional family stores that have been in Inaba for a really, really, _really_ long time. It was a touchy conversation and he was never very delicate with words.

The city kid. That’s what he was here: some criminal outcast that was being punished for punishing Inaba with his presence. It was _awesome_ that he had to up and move into this in the middle of his first year of high school. Or, you know, not awesome at all.

Yosuke gathered his things slowly and made it halfway to the door before someone grabbed him from behind and he did not just squeak in surprise. Nope. He turned to see who it was only to get a face full of… ninjas?

“You wanted to borrow it, right?” Chie Satonaka shook the DVD in her hand a couple times before bringing it down just enough to set her best warning glare on Yosuke. (She could be really scary when she wanted). “Don’t you dare break it.”

“Oh come on, Chie.” Yosuke said, snagging the box out of her hand with a slightly overdramatic eye roll. She had no faith in anyone; especially him (or that’s the way it seemed). “Take DVD out of case, put into DVD player, return when finished. It’s not like I’m gonna go play Frisbee with it or something.”

Chie put her hands on her hips and frowned up at him. “Well, I can never be too careful with you, you klutz.”

_Here we go again._ “Klutz? Aw, man that’s not cool.”

“I saw you crash your bike again this morning!” Chie’s disapproving frown turned into a grin as she giggled. “Nearly ran over that new senior student.”

_New…what now?_

Yosuke shrugged. “My brakes don’t work! It’s not my fault my bike is a piece of trash. All the crappy weather here has it rusting since I gotta leave it outside all the time.”

“Excuses.” Chie whipped a hand out and hit him on the arm. “Are you working today?”

_Ow…_ He never understood why she always had to hit him so hard. She probably didn’t mean for it to hurt, but he wasn’t exactly a muscly kind of guy.

“Yeah, we’re taking inventory this week so I get to spend the afternoon in the back storeroom counting boxes.” Which was fifty times better than having to deal with customers. No one to ask him if they could cut them a discount ‘cause they were in the same grade or met on the street once.

Yosuke rubbed his arm and started out the door. Chie stepped up next to him and matched his pace, her hands now safely tucked into the pockets of her green sweatshirt. For as much as she teased him, Chie was probably the only person in town that didn’t actually hate him for something or for just existing. For as tough as she acted, Yosuke wasn’t sure Chie was capable of _hating_ anyone. Sure, she had a small temper, but she usually let things roll off her like water on a duck’s feathers.

Which was more than almost anyone else in town was capable of doing.

Still, she rarely ever stuck around to talk with him like this so why… _oh_. “Where’s Yukiko?”

“She left at lunch to go help at the Inn.” She only sounded a little more than suspicious about that and she definitely sounded a little hurt. “There’s something big going on, but she wouldn’t tell me exactly what.”

And that was super fishy because Chie and Yukiko were like him and his headphones. One was almost never seen without the other unless it was a particularly bad day. So she was really only walking with him because her significant other (because seriously, they might as well be a couple) was busy. Not really surprising.

“So that guy from this morning was new?” Yosuke said in an attempt to make boring conversation. They headed outside into a rare partly cloudy afternoon and stopped next to the bike rack his sad excuse for a ride was tied to. Maybe if Chie could take a hint, she’d see that he really didn’t have all that much to say and leave him to his squeaky bike wheels and music. “Did he just transfer here or something?”

“Well yeah, have you ever seen him before? I heard there was a new student in the senior class, but no one knew anything about his arrival until yesterday. Pretty crazy, don’t ya think?”

“Crazy? How long did you guys know about me before I got here?”

“About a month.” Chie tapped a finger to her lips, thinking. “They started building Junes way before you arrived and it was the talk of the town so it wasn’t very surprising we knew about you. But then again, two weeks ago King Moron told us we’d have another transfer student in our class soon right? Monday I think... or maybe it’s the week after next. I don’t know. The point is we usually have fair warning about new people coming to town.”

Yosuke stopped dead in the middle of unlocking his bike. He had completely forgotten about that. Another kid from the city, just like him. Someone like him, who had been living in the big city, _civilization_ , and was forced to move to the middle of nowhere (because who would move to Inaba willingly in the middle of their high school life?). Someone he might actually be able to relate to ands someone who might not actually have a reason to hate him.

Probably not, but being positive was sometimes the only way to keep himself sane.

* * *

 

Things went pretty much as Souji Seta guessed they would until they stopped at the Moel gas station so Nanako could go to the bathroom and his Uncle could smoke. The gas station attendant gave him a pretty warm (and slightly awkward) welcome to town by offering him a job and after a sudden dizzy spell and desire for a pillow he was left alone with his Uncle to wait for Nanako.

Dojima seemed nice enough and once the initial ‘we know nothing about each other’ stage was over, Souji could see them getting along fine. It was the least he could hope for in the up and coming year. After all, his Uncle had been nice enough to agree to let him live in his house for a whole year; family aside that was no small thing.

After paying the attendant, Dojima leaned up against the car heavily and let out a low sigh. “I need to apologize to you. We have a bit of an unexpected situation at the moment.”

Souji’s stomach dropped, his Uncle sounded kind of angry. Usually when an adult apologizes and says the word unexpected it meant Souji was going to have to pick up his life and resituate it…again. And he had only just arrived, great.

“The police department in town is part of a program for… troubled teenagers about your age. We keep one or two in town and try to straighten them out and the department gets a generous donation for our efforts.” Dojima shook his head. “Long story short we got a kid in town a few days ago, but the officer he was supposed to be living with quit last month so the chief stuck him on us. It shouldn’t be for very long, but the house might be a little crowded for a couple weeks. ”

_Oh._ Well that wasn’t bad.

Souji laughed off the tension in his stomach and let a small smile crack his lips. He could deal with a possible criminal under the same roof as him. Changing living situations after he had just settled with the idea of this move? Not so much. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault that it happened.”

“I’m glad you understand. He’s sleeping in your room for now, but I’ll move him to the couch in the living room; that’s the space we made for you after all.”

“I don’t mind sharing.” Souji said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly since his Uncle raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, it’s just a little weird sleeping in the middle of everything. I’ve had to stay on a few couches before at friend’s houses when my parents were out of town. I don’t mind if it isn’t for too long.”

Which was both the truth and a lie. He really didn’t care about sharing a space to sleep. What he cared about was unimportant at the moment.

Dojima looked skeptical but nodded. “If you say so, but let us know if you change your mind.”

Souji nodded as Nanako bounced up between him and looked up at him with narrow eyes. “Do you get car sick? You don’t look so good.”

“She’s right.” Dojima said as if just noticing. He opened the back door of the car for Nanako and the front door for Souji before making his way around to the driver’s side. “Let’s get you home, you must be exhausted after your trip. We’ll eat dinner then you can get some rest before you start school tomorrow.”

With a nod, Souji plopped back down into the car and gave a small smile to Nanako as she buckled up her seat belt in the back seat. Souji didn’t know a lot about his Uncle (other than the fact that he was his mother’s brother and that he was a detective) and he definitely didn’t remember him from the last time they met. Which was apparently back when Souji still wore diapers (and that comment was only slightly embarrassing). He remembered his mother mentioning the death of his Aunt years ago and being told to mail a fairly large gift basket as recompense for not being able to attend the funeral, but he had no idea about Nanako. _You’d think mom could have at least mentioned her niece._

Although, maybe he shouldn’t blame her to much; they were moving out of the country for a whole year and had to pack up their current flat and decide what they were bringing with them while Souji was trying to do the same on a smaller scale. They had their work to sort out and their new accommodations overseas. Remembering that her brother had a daughter might have just been a little too much on the irrelevant list.

Shouldn’t have been, but these were his parents and Souji learned not to expect a whole lot when it comes to things outside of their precious work pretty quickly in life. After all, his mother being one of the scientists in the field of infectious diseases meant that her work was pretty important to the world, and his dad owned more hospitals throughout the country than Souji had years of school underneath him so he was always up to his ears in board meetings and site visits.

They were always on the move. From one new hospital to the next for his father or a new research institute or university for his mother, Souji couldn’t remember ever living in the same place for more than three or four years and those were the longer residencies.

At least they had stayed in country up until now, but when his mother received the invitation to do research and guest teach at Columbia University in America for a year refusal was the most ridiculous idea in the world. It was something anyone in her field would jump at and his father found it as an opportunity to partner with the hospital at the school. An exchange program between his hospitals and the educational system in America could only mean profit.

Who cared if their son was in the middle of high school and couldn’t speak enough English to move with them? That’s what Uncles out in the countryside were for.

It didn’t take long before they pulled under the car park next to Dojima’s house and Souji was being ushered (more like dragged) inside by Nanako who was excited to eat Sushi for his “Welcome to the Family” dinner. He took off his shoes as quick as he could, still trailing behind Nanako and on the verge of tripping, when a chuckle filtered from down the stairs on his right.

“Whoa there, Nanako, you’re going to rip your cousin’s arm off.”

“Oh!” Nanako let go, her cheeks flushing red as she looked up at Souji. “Sorry.”

Souji shook his head and turned as the source of the voice padded down the last stairs into the living room. A boy about his age and height with long dark hair put a hand in the air in a small wave. “She’s been jumping around all day waiting for your train to get into town.”

_He doesn’t look like a ‘troubled teen’._ In fact aside from his absurdly long hair he looked pretty normal. And it appeared he got along with Nanako just fine.

Nanako turned to the boy and frowned. “I have not been jumping around.”

“Running around then.” The boy responded with a small laugh. “Either way you kept asking what time it was.”

“You’re mean, Yuri.” Nanako tried to keep her frown, but it didn’t last long before she broke into giggles.

“I am not.” Yuri tapped her twice her head before he held a hand out for Souji. “Sorry about taking up your space. Name’s Yuri Lowell, your poor Uncle got me dumped on him for a little while.”

_Dumped? I can relate_. Because really, he was dumped on his Uncle too, just by his mother instead of a boss and Souji wasn’t really sure which was worse for Dojima. An obligation to family or an order for a high up. Both seemed like the rotten end of a deal that wasn’t really a deal to begin with.

Souji took Yuri’s hand in a firm shake. “I’m Souji Set—“ _What the—_

The world went gray as Souji jerked his hand back and Yuri pulled back at the same time almost toppling over up the stairs behind him. A sharp pain shot up his arm and down his spine and then the living room was back in focus and it was quiet as Nanako looked between them and Dojima stood in the doorway looking just about as confused as Souji felt.

His Uncle shot a glance at Yuri before turning back to Souji. “You two okay?”

Souji looked at his hand and then up at Yuri who shrugged and shook his head. “Static shock?”

_Maybe if I was shaking hands with an electric eel._

Ignoring the tingling in his arm Souji nodded. “It just startled us.”

“Uh huh.” Dojima didn’t sound convinced at all, but closed the door behind him. Souji took note about how his gaze lingered on Yuri as if he had done something. “Well since introductions have been made why don’t we get dinner out and our little party started?”

Nanako clapped her hands and took off for the kitchen. “I’ll get the plates out!”

* * *

 

Toru Adachi twiddled his pen between his fingers as he leaned back in his chair at the police station. Sundays were so _boring_ and today was even more so since Dojima had to go pick up his nephew at the train station. No one to annoy to pass the time which meant that tomorrow he had to make up for his lost sanity by being twice as annoying.

Because seriously? How else was he supposed to stay sane out in the middle of bum fuck nowhere?

At least things weren’t looking as bleak as they had been when he arrived in Inaba. With the arrival of that delinquent Yuri kid and now this juicy media frenzy around that stupid whore of a reporter with the councilman, things were actually quite the opposite. So life didn’t suck one hundred percent; that was a change Adachi could settle with for now.

Adachi glanced up at the clock, threw down his pen and reached for his phone. He had been killing time before he’d call in Dojima to do work on their missing persons case. Sure, it was a Sunday and sure, his nephew just got into town, but this was an important case; it was on the news and everything.

He didn’t even have to look at the numbers as he dialed, but his fingers paused just over the ‘send’ button on his cell phone as an unfamiliar face walked past his open door. _Oh? What do we have here? Or rather_ who _?_

Adachi pocketed his phone and spun out of his chair to practically skip across the small space to the hall where he watched an older gentleman with slick chin length black hair slid into Chief Dinoia’s office. Suspicious stranger in their chief’s office? Sounded like a good excuse to investigate to him. A quick glance down the hall behind him and Adachi was knocking on Alexei’s door and opening it before anyone inside could respond.

“Chief?” Adachi poked his head in looking as intimidated as possible. The new Chief couldn’t be much older than him, but god did the white haired guy love his superiority complex. “I have a few questions about-“

“Detective Adachi.” The annoyance in Alexei’s voice was almost palpable. “Not now.”

Faking surprise Adachi looked at the stranger sitting in the spare chair and bowed his head. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you had a guest.”

“He’s not a guest.” Alexei explained hurriedly. “He’ll be taking over for Officer Tachi.”

_Oh things just got even better_.

The dark haired gentleman turned in his chair to look at Adachi with a dull expression and dark circles under his eyes. He raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Alexei. “This is the trainee detective?”

Alexei nodded and shooed at Adachi with a hand. “Obviously. Now will you come back later? Officer Schwann and I have a lot to discuss.”

“Yes Sir!” Adachi smiled and gave a sloppy salute before quickly ducking out of the doorway and slipping back into Dojima’s office shutting the door behind him. He sat on top of the desk dangling his feet just above the carpet as he took out his phone to resume his call.

As the line rang he smiled. Teenaged delinquents, missing television reporters, a scandal on a government councilman, new police chiefs and officers? Oh yes, Inaba might not be as boring in the up and coming year as Adachi thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pretty surprised that this has as many hits as it does and I'm super happy about it. Thanks again guys! I'll see you all next time. -Siri


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